Oral hygiene is so important for your overall health and well-being that if you begin to write only the basic advantages and importance, it will take more than one book to finish. Oral hygiene keeps you away from many diseases, especially of the digestive tract. That is the reason that dentists always advise you to get your oral hygiene screened at least every six months.
What is dental screening?
Dental screening is a procedure through which a dentist checks the oral cavity for multiple diseases or signs of diseases. They are the visual assessments done by a certified dentist to see if everything is fine within the oral cavity. Some might confuse it with a dental examination but it is just similar but not the same as a dental examination.
Where do we need dental screening?
Dental screening is done at multiple places for various reasons.
The most important place is the children’s school. There must be regular arrangements by the school management so that all the children get their dental screening on a regular basis. Dental screening in schools is always done by hygienists and they belong to the public health sector.
It is also done in the dental health clinics that are constructed for the community. These community health clinics also have certified hygienists and they regularly screen the local community for the status of oral hygiene and dental condition.
What is the procedure of dental screening?
Dental screening is simply done by a mouth mirror which is sterilized for each individual. These mirrors are used at different angles in the mouth to assess the hygienic condition of each and every part of the mouth cavity.
It also helps in the status of the level of cleanliness of the teeth and the spaces in between them. Moreover, signs of carcinoma, xerosis, and other oral health conditions are identified so that they can be timely treated and eradicated.
If necessary, these oral health hygienists refer to the local or concerned dental specialists for the dental and oral conditions that require specialized healthcare. They are also responsible for identifying people with poor oral hygiene and also poor financial and insurance status too.
What is a dental screening form?
The dental screening form is a document filed by the oral hygienists which tells the status of oral health and oral cavity of the patient.
- Name, age sex of the patient in the first portion of the form.
- If the patient is a student or a minor, the name of parents or guardians is also mentioned.
- The date of the dental screening is mentioned before mentioning the actual findings during the examination.
- The main findings are then mentioned in the next couple of columns and if there are some positive findings, they are elaborated on by the hygienist.
- At the end of the document, the dental hygienist mentions his name and designation and verifies that he has examined the patient completely.
- He signs this document and if asked, he has to write his contact details at the end of the form.
